Camp War Eagle, Among Other Things...

It's been kinda crazy around here! First off, I'm not the only crafty person in the house, as Drew has been wanting to build his own computer for a few years. He's kept a list of components and has been pricing them for over a year, unbeknownst to us, so once he had a few paychecks from his dishwashing job, he ran it all by us, then went ahead with his purchases. Behold what the future electrical engineer created:


After troubleshooting an issue with the power switch (a loose cable was touching the case and apparently shorting out everything - he figured that out by himself before the same situation was portrayed on AMC's Halt and Catch Fire - I'm very proud!), he proved that it worked. Proudest moment of his life so far, I believe, as evidenced by his ripping his shirt off and striking a Herculean pose, though I opted not to include that here for modesty's sake.


And speaking of crafty things, I'm wondering if my AC shirt is fading in the wash. Robbie, have you washed any of your fabric yet? I've washed it a couple of times, and I don't MIND it fading, as I wanted just a faint stencil anyway, but I've always cut out the stenciled part, so this was interesting to see....will follow and let you know.


So he finished his computer a couple of days before we went to Camp War Eagle, which is mandatory orientation and registration for new Auburn students. We drove up on Wednesday after work, and ate at Ariccia, which is a FANTASTIC restaurant inside the Auburn Hotel and Conference Center. I loved it so much, I had to take pictures. What a fancy bread presentation, but why do they provide sea salt? Are you supposed to dip your bread in it? I really think it's for looks, as my mouth puckered up immediately upon tasting bread dipped in oil and salt. But so pretty!


Lovely Caesar salad - about half-eaten - sorry.


Drew's delicious pizza, which is reminiscent of La Pizzeria's here in Mobile, before they closed. This was salami, I believe, and SO TASTY.


And the only minor disappointment was that the tortellini with mushrooms was more of a salad, and less of pasta with Alfredo sauce, which is what I was expecting. Still delicious though, and LOOK at that parmesan cheese! I forgot to capture dessert, which was little doughnuts rolled in sugar that you dip in chocolate, raspberry, or caramel sauce - YUM!


So on with CWE - Drew took a suitcase and was shuttled off on a bus to check into the dorm while I went to lots of parent orientation meetings, which were great.


After a farm-to-table dinner, we got to sit next to the students for a pep rally in the stadium. Have you seen the largest Jumbotron in the nation? Well, this is it!


And here's some fascinating entertainment, a hip-hop dance team called AU Rhythm. The guy who runs in near the end was Drew's student counselor, who started his first year in ROTC - loved this guy!



The next day was academic advising and more meetings, but I had time to walk over to Toomer's for a milkshake. Did I mention the heat index was over 100 degrees? You can't see my hair dripping, can you?


Here's a shot of the famous corner, but they were putting the new oaks in and have the intersection all torn up.


And this is what stress looks like. Racing 500 fellow students to get registered for your perfect class schedule is apparently tough, so they have them work through several worksheets to be sure they're all set. Drew literally got the last seat in one class, just before the guy next to him got locked out of it.


Meanwhile, this joker is at camp in Texas for 3 weeks learning how to build a website, so he can enlarge his current YouTube channel empire.


And after CWE, there were the Blue Angels.


Here's a little sample of a flyover and the crowd. We had nice weather for once.



So I better change for date night! With Lucas gone and Drew working dinner shifts, Dean and I are being empty nesters for a bit - FUN! (Because it's temporary, of course.)